The image of the two farmers on either side of the wall is also powerful because even while they are together, they are separated. This physical setting sets the tone of the poem, as the wall serves as an image of safety for the neighbor, who feels it necessary to have the wall, even if for his own peace of mind. The speaker, however, sees things differently, He states, "Before I built a wall I'd ask to know / What I was walling in or walling out, / and to whom I was like to give offense" (33-5). When the two are working to "set the wall between us once gain" (14), we understand that the wall is much more important to the neighbor than it is to the speaker.

Frost delves into the psyche of the human heart with this poem. What appears to be an ordinary event prompts...
[ View Full Essay]